He said tough international credit conditions may constrain the field of bidders.

"Some companies that would like to participate, they need to get access to funds. And in some cases it's difficult, at least these days, to get access to money," Bergqvist said.

Odell said the quality of the companies put up for sale would insulate buyers against the impact of global market turmoil.

He has left all options open for the sale of the other assets, but he said an analysis by financial adviser Morgan Stanley had suggested an auction was the best route for V&S.

Analysts agreed that an auction would fetch more than methods such as a bourse listing, would cost less and would carry a lower political risk.

"If they floated it and it was mispriced, the political price would be higher," said analyst Trevor Stirling at Sanford Bernstein.

Bergqvist agreed.

"No one can say afterwards that you didn't get the right price if you have this auction procedure."

Stirling saw a $6 billion price tag for V&S and estimated a deal could navigate the regulatory process by the end of 2008.

Absolut, with its distinctive clear-glass bottle, is one of Sweden's most famous exports, with an advertising strategy that has spawned more than one marketing book.

Nearly 89 million liters of the vodka were sold in 126 countries last year.

V&S also owns Plymouth gin and Cruzan rum, made on St Croix in the Caribbean.

The unit that includes Absolut, V&S Absolut Spirits, is the biggest with sales of 4.4 billion crowns in the first nine months of 2007. The Wine and Distilleries units reported 557 million and 1.4 billion crowns of revenue respectively.